Learn about the estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States. Where do they live? When did they arrive in the United States, and from which origin countries? What are their levels of education, top industries of employment, incomes, parental and marital status, health care coverage, and more? Using a unique MPI methodology to assign legal status in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012-16 American Community Survey data, this data tool provides detailed sociodemographic profiles for the United States, 41 states (plus the District of Columbia), and the 135 counties with the largest unauthorized populations. And for topline estimates of unauthorized immigrant populations for 194 counties, click on the spreadsheet at right.
Hover over a state for data, and for dark teal states, click on state for detailed profile
County Profiles
To access detailed data profiles for the 135 counties in the United States with the largest unauthorized populations, click on the state of interest below to display individual profiles. For topline estimates of the total unauthorized population for 194 counties, click on the teal button below or the spreadsheet link at right.
This data tool is based on a methodology that imputes unauthorized status using U.S. Census Bureau 2012-16 American Community Survey (ACS) and 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data. This method was developed in consultation with James Bachmeier of Temple University and Jennifer Van Hook of The Pennsylvania State University, Population Research Institute. For more detail on the methods, see Jeanne Batalova, Sarah Hooker, Randy Capps, and James D. Bachmeier, DACA at the Two-Year Mark: A National and State Profile of Youth Eligible and Applying for Deferred Action (Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2014). Please note that these estimates use commonly accepted benchmarks from other research studies to determine the size of the unauthorized population and response rates to surveys. These estimates have the same sampling and coverage errors as any other survey-based estimates that rely on ACS and other Census Bureau data.
